Was my cars paint preserved as it was never detailed?

joed1228 · 01-28-02, 11:38

I bought (well making payments) on a 1999 Camaro SS. From the looks of it, the car was NEVER detailed. I got to the thinking and it seems like it is a "good" thing. Let me flap my gums a little.

If the clear coat was never touched, I am basically detailing a brand new car that is really really dirty right?

Isn't that better than dealing with a car that no one knows what was used on it, how much was used and what mistakes were made. I'm trying to make sense to a friend who is in the market for a car. He is dead set on buying something with brand new paint but I am telling him to get something with the factory paint job but try to find something that looked like it was never detailed. After a few layers of 3M polish and some Klasse I am sure the finish will be easier to restore than a dead paint job that was detailed 50 times in the past with all kinds of cheap no name detailing products.

DETAILKING · 01-28-02, 11:45

The paint is in good condition.

To be honest, I kind of would hope that the owner took care of it and use SOMETHING on it. If they had no protection on it, there is more of a risk of acid rain damage, swirls, water spotting, bird dropping etching, and UV fading.

Especially on my Z-28. Before I starting using high quality products on my 1996 Z-26 I noticed the steel panels fading differenly from the composite ones, in under a years time.

My bottom line would be that I don't care how old the paint is, as long as it appears to be in good condition, and the older a car gets the more it depends on how it was taken care of...........

DK

joed1228 · 01-28-02, 11:50

For the last few months before I got it, I guess it was stored in doors, I opened the hood at the dealer and I could of took a computer compressed air can and spray off a huge amount of dust from every single area of the bay, the interior was dusty and everything, looked like it came out of an attic.

Oh well, I'm more than happy with the paint no nicks on any of the bumpers, no scratches and everyone always thinks it's a 2002 model :-) gotta love it.

Guess My Name · 01-28-02, 12:16

You can never know if it wasn't detailed in a prior time...Someone may have used abrasives or something...You never know with a used car.

Where as new car it is factory fresh.

DETAILKING · 01-28-02, 12:18

My dealer swirled up my BMW worse than some used cars I have purchased......

Again, I would take it as a case by case basis......

Don2000g · 01-28-02, 02:23

Personally, I would prefer to buy a car that was detailed with Turtle Wax every two months over a car that was NEVER detailed. A car that has not been waxed has been exposed to the elements such as tar, fallout, UV damage, salt, etc... That is not something that I would like. Laters

Chuckmotor · 01-28-02, 02:39

Paint fades after years of not being detailed... Ooooh, does it fade, and there is NOTHING I can do about it!!

Actually, most people would be more than happy with my car's paint condition, but being an Autopian, I'm not happy that my car is not deep black. I envy the deep super dark black on new cars, and I wish that my car had been well maintained.
I would prefer the Turtle Waxed car over the never-been-touched car. At least it I know that it has been protected from some of the elements.

YoSteve · 01-28-02, 02:40

Only think to think about in an "untouched" car, is oxidation of the paint. It's a reaction that will happen no matter what, it's how you slow it down that is a key. You might see how much role oxidation played an effect on your car by comparing it's color to how it looked originally. Older red cars tend to turn an orange shade, etc. Now that's a car that was garaged all its life. On an untouched regular car, contaminants do damage. It's up to you to decide on the extent on the damage on your clear. Get a magnifying glass, carefully clean the car up and inspect it, then decide how well it fared throught the years. Either way, you'll have fun detailing it now

Guess My Name · 01-28-02, 02:41

The sun will fade the paint but it should be uniform unless there are stickers and stuff.

I would still prefer the new car...Plus the new car smell is quite nice!!!

carguy · 01-28-02, 02:47

Not detailed doesn't mean not washed. If you have 3 years worth of swirls from poor washing/drying, plus oxidation and UV damage - you may well have your work cut out for you. No, I don't think I'd rather buy a car that wasn't detailed.

YoSteve · 01-28-02, 03:09

well thinking about it more it depends,

not detailed or washed versus automatically washed and turtle waxed every month.

I'd take the former, because a 1999 car shouldn't be show signs of ageing yet, from what he was describing, again depends on how much permanent damage neglect caused versus a car that was majorly swirled due to bad detail/washing.

Don2000g · 01-28-02, 08:05

I'd rather work on a car that has some swirls than a car than has been neglected and may have oxidation and or UV damage from not being protected. My friend has a 97 Camaro that has quite a bit of UV damage. The paint is peeling off in many areas as he has only applied wax once in the few years that he has had it. Laters